Thermal Dynamics of Charge Density Wave Pinning in ZrTe3

Impurity pinning has long been discussed to have a profound effect on the dynamics of an incommensurate charge density wave (CDW), which would otherwise slide through the lattice without resistance. Here, we visualize the impurity pinning evolution of the CDW in ZrTe3 using the variable temperature...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2021-06, Vol.126 (25), p.1
Main Authors: Liu, Limin, Zhu, Changjiang, Liu, Z Y, Deng, Hanbin, Zhou, X B, Li, Yuan, Sun, Yingkai, Huang, Xiong, Li, Shuaishuai, Du, Xin, Wang, Zheng, Guan, Tong, Mao, Hanqing, Sui, Y, Wu, Rui, Yin, Jia-Xin, Cheng, J-G, Pan, Shuheng H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charge density waves
Evolution
Impurities
Low temperature
Modulation
Pinning
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Temperature
Transition temperature
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Summary:Impurity pinning has long been discussed to have a profound effect on the dynamics of an incommensurate charge density wave (CDW), which would otherwise slide through the lattice without resistance. Here, we visualize the impurity pinning evolution of the CDW in ZrTe3 using the variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. At low temperatures, we observe a quasi-1D incommensurate CDW modulation moderately correlated to the impurity positions, indicating a weak impurity pinning. As we raise the sample temperature, the CDW modulation gets progressively weakened and distorted, while the correlation with the impurities becomes stronger. Above the CDW transition temperature, short-range modulations persist with the phase almost all pinned by impurities. The evolution from weak to strong impurity pinning through the CDW transition can be understood as a result of losing phase rigidity.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.256401